DARPA's former headqwarters in de Virginia Sqware neighborhood of Arwington, uh-hah-hah-hah. The agency is currentwy wocated in a new buiwding at 675 Norf Randowph St.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is an agency of de United States Department of Defense responsibwe for de devewopment of emerging technowogies for use by de miwitary.

Originawwy known as de Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), de agency was created in February 1958 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in response to de Soviet waunching of Sputnik 1 in 1957. By cowwaborating wif academic, industry, and government partners, DARPA formuwates and executes research and devewopment projects to expand de frontiers of technowogy and science, often beyond immediate U.S. miwitary reqwirements.[3]

DARPA-funded projects have provided significant technowogies dat infwuenced many non-miwitary fiewds, such as computer networking and de basis for de modern Internet, and graphicaw user interfaces in information technowogy.

DARPA is independent of oder miwitary research and devewopment and reports directwy to senior Department of Defense management. DARPA has about 220 empwoyees, of whom approximatewy 100 are in management.[4]

The name of de organization first changed from its founding name ARPA to DARPA in March 1972, briefwy changing back to ARPA in February 1993, onwy to revert to DARPA in March 1996.[5]

The creation of de Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) was audorized by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958 for de purpose of forming and executing research and devewopment projects to expand de frontiers of technowogy and science, and abwe to reach far beyond immediate miwitary reqwirements,[3] de two rewevant acts being de Suppwementaw Miwitary Construction Audorization (Air Force)[7] (Pubwic Law 85-325) and Department of Defense Directive 5105.15, in February 1958. Its creation was directwy attributed to de waunching of Sputnik and to U.S. reawization dat de Soviet Union had devewoped de capacity to rapidwy expwoit miwitary technowogy. Initiaw funding of ARPA was $520 miwwion, uh-hah-hah-hah.[8] ARPA's first director, Roy Johnson, weft a $160,000 management job at Generaw Ewectric for an $18,000 job at ARPA.[9]Herbert York from Lawrence Livermore Nationaw Laboratory was hired as his scientific assistant.[10]

Johnson and York were bof keen on space projects, but when NASA was estabwished water in 1958 aww space projects and most of ARPA's funding were transferred to it. Johnson resigned and ARPA was repurposed to do "high-risk", "high-gain", "far out" basic research, a posture dat was endusiasticawwy embraced by de nation's scientists and research universities.[11] ARPA's second director was Brigadier Generaw Austin W. Betts, who resigned in earwy 1961. He was succeeded by Jack Ruina who served untiw 1963.[12] Ruina, de first scientist to administer ARPA, managed to raise its budget to $250 miwwion, uh-hah-hah-hah.[13] It was Ruina who hired J. C. R. Lickwider as de first administrator of de Information Processing Techniqwes Office, which pwayed a vitaw rowe in creation of ARPANET, de basis for de future Internet.[14]

Additionawwy, de powiticaw and defense communities recognized de need for a high-wevew Department of Defense organization to formuwate and execute R&D projects dat wouwd expand de frontiers of technowogy beyond de immediate and specific reqwirements of de Miwitary Services and deir waboratories. In pursuit of dis mission, DARPA has devewoped and transferred technowogy programs encompassing a wide range of scientific discipwines dat address de fuww spectrum of nationaw security needs.

ARPA at dis point (1959) pwayed an earwy rowe in Transit (awso cawwed NavSat) a predecessor to de Gwobaw Positioning System (GPS).[16] "Fast-forward to 1959 when a joint effort between DARPA and de Johns Hopkins Appwied Physics Laboratory began to fine-tune de earwy expworers’ discoveries. TRANSIT, sponsored by de Navy and devewoped under de weadership of Dr. Richard Kirschner at Johns Hopkins, was de first satewwite positioning system."[17][18]

During de wate 1960s, wif de transfer of dese mature programs to de Services, ARPA redefined its rowe and concentrated on a diverse set of rewativewy smaww, essentiawwy expworatory research programs. The agency was renamed de Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in 1972, and during de earwy 1970s, it emphasized direct energy programs, information processing, and tacticaw technowogies.

Concerning information processing, DARPA made great progress, initiawwy drough its support of de devewopment of time-sharing (aww modern operating systems rewy on concepts invented for de Muwtics system, devewoped by a cooperation among Beww Labs, Generaw Ewectric and MIT, which DARPA supported by funding Project MAC at MIT wif an initiaw two-miwwion-dowwar grant).[19]

The Mansfiewd Amendment of 1973 expresswy wimited appropriations for defense research (drough ARPA/DARPA) onwy to projects wif direct miwitary appwication, uh-hah-hah-hah. Some[who?] contend dat de amendment devastated American science, since ARPA/DARPA was a major funding source for basic science projects of de time; de Nationaw Science Foundation never made up de difference as expected.

The resuwting "brain drain" is awso credited wif boosting de devewopment of de fwedgwing personaw computer industry. Some young computer scientists weft de universities to startups and private research waboratories such as Xerox PARC.

During de 1980s, de attention of de Agency was centered on information processing and aircraft-rewated programs, incwuding de Nationaw Aerospace Pwane (NASP) or Hypersonic Research Program. The Strategic Computing Program enabwed DARPA to expwoit advanced processing and networking technowogies and to rebuiwd and strengden rewationships wif universities after de Vietnam War. In addition, DARPA began to pursue new concepts for smaww, wightweight satewwites (LIGHTSAT) and directed new programs regarding defense manufacturing, submarine technowogy, and armor/anti-armor.

On October 28, 2009 de agency broke ground on a new faciwity in Arwington, Virginia a few miwes from de Pentagon, uh-hah-hah-hah.[21]

In faww 2011, DARPA hosted de 100-Year Starship Symposium wif de aim of getting de pubwic to start dinking seriouswy about interstewwar travew.[22]

On June 5, 2016, NASA and DARPA announced dat it pwanned to buiwd new X-pwanes wif NASA's pwan setting to create a whowe series of X pwanes over de next 10 years.[23]

In Juwy 2016, it was announced dat DARPA wouwd bring a group of top-notch computer security experts to search for security vuwnerabiwities and create a fix dat patches dose vuwnerabiwities and it is cawwed de Cyber Grand Chawwenge (CGC).[24]

In June 2018, DARPA weaders demonstrated a number of new technowogies dat were devewoped widin de framework of de GXV-T program. The goaw of dis program is to create a wightwy armored combat vehicwe of not very warge dimensions, which, due to maneuverabiwity and oder tricks, can successfuwwy resist modern anti-tank weapon systems.[25]

DARPA has six technicaw offices dat manage de agency's research portfowio, and two additionaw support offices dat manage speciaw projects and transition efforts.[cwarification needed] Aww offices report to de DARPA director:

The Adaptive Execution Office (AEO) is one of two new DARPA offices created in 2009 by de DARPA Director, Regina Dugan. The office's four project areas incwude technowogy transition, assessment, rapid productivity and adaptive systems. AEO provides de agency wif robust connections to de warfighter community and assists de agency wif de pwanning and execution of technowogy demonstrations and fiewd triaws to promote adoption by de warfighter, accewerating de transition of new technowogies into DoD capabiwities.

The Defense Sciences Office (DSO) vigorouswy pursues de most promising technowogies widin a broad spectrum of de science and engineering research communities and devewops dose technowogies into important, radicawwy new miwitary capabiwities.[26] DSO identifies and pursues high-risk, high-payoff fundamentaw research initiatives across a broad spectrum of science and engineering discipwines – sometimes reshaping existing fiewds or creating entirewy new discipwines – and transforms dese initiatives into radicawwy new, game-changing technowogies for U.S. nationaw security.

The Information Innovation Office (I2O) aims to ensure U.S. technowogicaw superiority in aww areas where information can provide a decisive miwitary advantage. Some of de program managers in I2O are Wade Shen (as of December 2014), Stuart Wagner (as of September 2014), Steve Jameson (as of August 2014), Angewos Keromytis (as of Juwy 2014), and David Doermann (as of Apriw 2014). Brian Pierce is currentwy de office director.

The Microsystems Technowogy Office (MTO) mission focuses on de heterogeneous microchip-scawe integration of ewectronics, photonics, and microewectromechanicaw systems (MEMS). Their high risk/high payoff technowogy is aimed at sowving de nationaw wevew probwems of protection from biowogicaw, chemicaw and information attack and to provide operationaw dominance for mobiwe distributed command and controw, combined manned/unmanned warfare, and dynamic, adaptive miwitary pwanning and execution, uh-hah-hah-hah.

A 1991 reorganization created severaw offices which existed droughout de earwy 1990s:[29]

The Ewectronic Systems Technowogy Office combined areas of de Defense Sciences Office and de Defense Manufacturing Office. This new office wiww focus on de boundary between generaw-purpose computers and de physicaw worwd, such as sensors, dispways and de first few wayers of speciawized signaw-processing dat coupwe dese moduwes to standard computer interfaces.

The Land Systems Office was created to devewop advanced wand vehicwe and anti-armor systems, once de domain of de Tacticaw Technowogy Office

The Undersea Warfare Office combined areas of de Advanced Vehicwe Systems and Tacticaw Technowogy offices to devewop and demonstrate submarine steawf and countersteawf and automation, uh-hah-hah-hah.

Reorganization in 2010 merged two offices:

The Transformationaw Convergence Technowogy Office (TCTO) mission was to advance new crosscutting capabiwities derived from a broad range of emerging technowogicaw and sociaw trends, particuwarwy in areas rewated to computing and computing-rewiant subareas of de wife sciences, sociaw sciences, manufacturing, and commerce. The TCTO was fowded into de I2O in 2010.[27][30]

A wist of DARPA's active and archived projects is avaiwabwe on de agency's website. Because of de agency's fast pace, programs constantwy start and stop based on de needs of de U.S. government. Structured information about some of de DARPA's contracts and projects is pubwicwy avaiwabwe.[32]

Sensor pwants: DARPA "is working on a pwan to use pwants to gader intewwigence information" drough DARPA’s Advanced Pwant Technowogies (APT) program, which aims to controw de physiowogy of pwants in order to detect chemicaw, biowogicaw, radiowogicaw and nucwear dreats. (2017)[68]

High Freqwency Active Auroraw Research Program (HAARP): An ionospheric research program jointwy funded by DARPA, de U.S. Air Force's AFRL and de U.S. Navy's NRL.[93] The most prominent area during dis research was de high-power radio freqwency transmitter faciwity, which tested de use of de Ionospheric Research Instrument (IRI).

Phoenix: A 2012–earwy-2015 satewwite project wif de aim to recycwe retired satewwite parts into new on-orbit assets. The project was initiated in Juwy 2012 wif pwans for system waunches no earwier dan 2016.[99][100] At de time, Satwet tests in wow Earf orbit were projected to occur as earwy as 2015.[101][needs update]

DARPA is weww known as a high-tech government agency, and as such has many appearances in popuwar fiction, uh-hah-hah-hah. Some reawistic references to DARPA in fiction are as "ARPA" in Tom Swift and de Visitor from Pwanet X (DARPA consuwts on a technicaw dreat),[107] in episodes of tewevision program The West Wing (de ARPA-DARPA distinction), de tewevision program Numb3rs[108] (DARPA research into creating de first sewf-aware computer), and in de motion picture Executive Decision (use of a one-of-a-kind experimentaw prototype in an emergency).

DARPA is depicted in de visuaw novew/anime series Steins;Gate 0 as DURPA, a shadowy government organization dat has been researching time travew in order to gain an advantage against Russia, which is awso devewoping time travew in de upcoming Worwd War III.

^"Roy Johnson, ARPA’s first director, was, wike his boss, a businessman, uh-hah-hah-hah. At age fifty-two, he had been personawwy recruited by McEwroy, who convinced him to weave a $160,000 job wif Generaw Ewectric and take an $18,000 job in Washington, uh-hah-hah-hah." Lyon, Matdew; Hafner, Katie (1999-08-19). Where Wizards Stay Up Late: The Origins Of The Internet (p. 21). Simon & Schuster. Kindwe Edition, uh-hah-hah-hah.

^"Herbert York, whom Kiwwian had been keen on, was given de job and moved to ARPA from de Lawrence Livermore Laboratory." Lyon, Matdew; Hafner, Katie (1999-08-19). Where Wizards Stay Up Late: The Origins Of The Internet (p. 21). Simon & Schuster. Kindwe Edition, uh-hah-hah-hah.

^"The staff of ARPA saw an opportunity to redefine de agency as a group dat wouwd take on de reawwy advanced "far-out" research....The scientific community, predictabwy, rawwied to de caww for a reinvention of ARPA as a "high-risk high-gain" research sponsor— de kind of R& D shop dey had dreamed of aww awong" Lyon, Matdew; Hafner, Katie (1999-08-19). Where Wizards Stay Up Late: The Origins Of The Internet (pp. 21,22). Simon & Schuster. Kindwe Edition, uh-hah-hah-hah.

Bewfiore, Michaew (2009). The Department of Mad Scientists: How DARPA Is Remaking Our Worwd, from de Internet to Artificiaw Limbs. Harper. ISBN9780061577932. OCLC310399265.Wiwwiam Sawetan writes of Bewfiore's book dat "His tone is reverentiaw and at times breadwess, but he captures de agency’s essentiaw virtues: bowdness, creativity, agiwity, practicawity and speed." (Sawetan, Wiwwiam (December 24, 2009). "The Body Ewectric". The New York Times.)